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GROUND-WATER STUDIES
and DATA (CYCLE I)
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>
LAND-USE
STUDY
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MAJOR
AQUIFER STUDIES
Analytical
Strategy
for the ground-water studies.
Ground-water
data collection protocols:
OFR 95-398
OFR 95-399
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 Overview
The ground-water
studies of the NAWQA Program assess the water quality of major aquifers.
The study design emphasizes the quality of recently recharged ground
water associated with current human activities such as urban growth
and agriculture. The goal is to assess ground water in regionally
or locally important aquifer systems by use of a network of about
30 wells. Water-use statistics are incorporated to determine which
aquifers are selected for the studies. For more information on the
design of the National program, see Design
of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program.
New England Coastal Basins Study Unit
In New England,
unconsolidated surficial (sand and gravel) aquifers are a significant
source of municipal drinking water. Fractured-bedrock aquifers yield
significantly less water than sand and gravel aquifers, yet are
an important source (and sometimes the sole source) of drinking
water for rural homeowners, especially in northern parts of New
England. As more people settle the northern parts of New England,
the underlying bedrock aquifers will become an even more important
source of drinking water.
Four ground-water
studies were conducted in the New England Coastal Basins (NECB) NAWQA
study unit:
- a land-use
study of the effects of development on sand and gravel aquifers
in the Boston metropolitan area
- a fractured-bedrock
aquifer study that focused on trace-elements such as arsenic
- a fractured-bedrock
aquifer study that focused on radon gas and other radiochemicals
- a study
of unconsolidated sand and gravel aquifers throughout the NECB
study unit.
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Photograph
Credits
All photographs on
this site were taken by USGS employees unless otherwise noted.
Selected
References
Ayotte, J.D., Nielsen,
M.G., Robinson, G.R., Jr., and Moore, R.B., 1999, Relation
of arsenic, iron, and manganese in ground water to aquifer type, bedrock
lithogeochemistry, and land use in the New England Coastal Basins:
U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 99-4162,
61 p.
Flanagan, S.M., Montgomery,
D.L., and Ayotte, J.D., 2001, Shallow
ground-water quality in the Boston, Massachusetts metropolitan area,
U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 01-4042,
12 p.
Gilliom, R.J., Alley,
W.M., and Gurtz, M.E., 1995, Design
of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program: Occurrence and distribution
of water-quality conditions, U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1112,
33 p.
Robinson, G.R., Jr.,
Ayotte, J.D., Montgomery, D.L., and DeSimone, L.A., 2002, Lithogeochemical
character of near-surface bedrock in the New England Coastal Basins,
U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 02-007.
Scott, J.C., 1990,
Computerized
stratified random site-selection approaches for design of a ground-water-quality
sampling network: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations
Report 90-4101, 109 p.
U.S.
Department of the Interior
U.S. Geological Survey
New Hampshire/Vermont District, USGS, 361 Commerce Way, Pembroke, NH
03275, USA
Comments and feedback: NH/VT webmaster-nh@usgs.gov
Last Updated March 23, 2007
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